International Journal of Technical Research and Applications e-ISSN: 2320-8163,

www.ijtra.com Special Issue 19 (June, 2015), PP. 34-38

Study of Alluvial Gold Bearing Sediments of River

Kabul, District Nowshera (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
Pakistan).
*Muhammad Ali, M. Mansoor Khan, FawadUl Hassan
Department of Mining Engineering
University of Engineering & Technology
Peshawar, Pakistan
*ali.uet@live.com
Abstract—Shaidu area situated in Peshawar Basin lies in
II. PREVIOUS WORK
district Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This area is
Researchers discovered that the locals of Shaidu town panned the
investigated for the occurrence of placer gold and also to
sediments for gold. After the preliminary field work in the area,
develop an economical, feasible and environmentally safe
these specific pan concentrated samples were collected for further
method. Mineralogical and chemical studies of the shaking
investigation. The samples were collected from a lenticular deposit
table samples showed the occurrence of placer gold particles
of sediments in an area expanding a kilometer long and half a
in concentrate, middling and tailing. These particles vary in
kilometer wide. These sediments were mainly comprised of less
size and morphology. Most of the particles are greater than
than 40% of gravels cobbles and pebbles and greater than 60% of
70μm, thus amalgamation is very effective for recovery of gold
sand.
particles larger than 60-70μmwhilecyanidation method is used
The pan concentrate showed visible gold particle and the gold
for the recovery of finer particles. A pilot study is suggested in
recovery from the pan concentrate was greater than 30 g/ton. [2]
order to increase the knowledge of the proposed plant and
resources. III. DETAIL EXPERIMENTAL WORK

IndexTerms—Alluvial Gold, Mineralogy Field Methodology

I. INTRODUCTION
From geographic point of view, Peshawar Basin is situated in
the southern margin of Pakistan Himalayas. It is an intermountain
basin, which is enclosed by Khyber mountain ranges in the West
and North West, Attock-Cherat in the South and Swat in the North
West while its Southern- Eastern side is bordered by Indus River
which is open for discharge. The Kabul, Swat and Indus Rivers are
the main braided rivers of this basin. The study area lies at a
distance of approximately a kilometer from the main GT road
towards South in the Peshawar Basin, within district Nowshera,
South-East of Shaidu town. [1-2]Modern placer deposits have
attracted the attention of geologists working in academia as well
as those being in search of metals or gemstones. Alluvial and
coastal deposits enriched in heavy minerals normally offer easy
access to miners and can be worked out by opencast operations
since the waste–ore ratio is very low. [3-4]This paper presents the
mineralogy, morphology, particle size and chemical study of
alluvial gold bearing sediments.
Fluvial sediments are found in River Kabul near Shaidu area in
District Nowshera. Detailed study of this area was conducted to
make finds about the mineralogy, particle size and other feature to
select a feasible and economical method for the extraction of
alluvial gold. For this purpose a proper systemic method was
applied for collecting the samples. Most samples were taken from
a depth of 2-3 feet so to get the samples representing the area.
The bulk samples collected from each spot were taken in a 20 kg
bucket. The material was put in bags and then sent to Mineral
Testing Laboratory Peshawar (MTL) for further analysis.
Laboratory Methodology
Samples collected in the field were transported to Mineral
Testing Laboratory Peshawar (MTL)
Following is the detail of each method used for extraction of gold
in laboratory carried out for successful extraction of gold from the
deposit. The samples were treated as follows;
Sieving: Bulk samples were first sieved through a sieve of # 10
mesh sizes.
Splitting: The samples were split by the help of a splitter machine
after sieving. The material was then divided into three sub samples
by Coning and Quartering Method and these samples are termed

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as Head Samples for chemical, mineralogical analysis and record other minerals were found, i.e. Rock fragments and gems were
keeping. These samples were then put into plastic bags and marked identified
accordingly. IV. RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Gravity Separation: Gravity separation is the technique used to TABLE I: CONCENTRATION OF GOLD AND SILVER IN
separate the material on the basis of its specific gravity. Sieved DIFFERENT SAMPLES
material was passed through shaking table. Three types of products Sample Metals Head Concentrate Middling Tail
were collected from shaking table i.e. 1. Concentrate 2. Middling No. Sample (ppm) (ppm) (ppm)
3.Tailing (ppm)
SS-1
Sampling: The denser part of the sample was collected as
Gold 0.17 0.93 0.09 0.09
concentrate; less dense part relative to concentrate was collected <0.5 <0.5 <0.5
as middling and the remaining was collected as tailing. Silver <0.5
These three media were then dried in oven and were put in SS-2
polythene bags and marked accordingly for further mineralogical Gold 0.29 0.89 0.1 0.08
Silver <0.5 <0.5 <0.5 <0.5
and chemical analysis and record keeping.
SS-3
Amalgamation: The concentrate of gravity separation contains fine Gold 19 46 14 0.1
particles of gold and it was treated with mercury to collect gold
from it. Mercury was initially in active form so first we deactivated Silver 0.5 0.9 0.6 0.4
it to be used for amalgamation. SS-4
Gold 13 23 3 0.09
For amalgamation process, the concentrate of the shaking table
was poured to bottles. Water was then put into the bottle above the Silver 0.45 0.23 0.6 0.4
level of the concentrate. Then the deactivated mercury was put into SS-5
the bottle and the bottle was placed on bottle rolling machine and Gold 2 6.1 0.10 .07
the machine was turned on. For 15 to 60 minutes the concentrate
Silver 0.93 1.75 0.6 .45
was rolled on bottle rolling machine. The mechanism followed in SS-6
the bottle rolling machine for amalgamation was that the Gold 3 19 1.3 0.9
deactivated mercury forms a thin layer at the edge of the bottle.
The gold particles being heavy than the other particles tends to Silver 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.6
SS-7
move toward the edges of the bottle and are trapped in the layer of
Gold 0.3 0.61 0.30 0.09
mercury The mercury containing gold particles is termed as
“Pregnant Mercury”. This pregnant mercury was then collected Silver 0.6 0.78 0.60 0.43
from the remaining concentrate in a separate dish for further SS-8
processing. Gold 0.3 1.61 0.30 0.09

Heating: Then pregnant mercury was heated in Assay Furnace at Silver 0.55 0.69 0.30 0.18
a temperature of 550˚C for 30 minutes and 650˚C for about 15 SS-9
minutes till all of the mercury evaporated and condensed in a flask Gold 0.29 0.89 0.1 0.08
which has been linked through a pipe to a motor engine. The pure
Silver 0.43 0.75 0.42 0.38
gold was left behind in the china dish. The gold recovered was in
SS-10
pure form and was checked under microscope for the particle size Gold 8.0 41 5 0.9
and the quantity of gold recovered.
Cyanidation Process has been used to recover fine and ultra-fine Silver 0.59 0.70 0.6 0.10
gold particle from middling and tailing [6]. For silver (Ag)
analyses, 30g of sample was treated with 50 ml of Aqua-Regia by
heating for about 2 hours on low heat and the solution was diluted
to 50 ml with clean water. The solution was directly run through
Atomic Absorption for the determination of the silver content.
 Mineralogical and Morphological Section
Samples were then analyzed under microscope. Gold grain size
was separated and distributed into pieces (greater than 0.3mm)
specks (0.3-0.5mm) and color (less than 0.3mm).
General morphology of the grains - the description of morphology
was done according to Herail (1984) into 8 categories: square,
rectangular, circular, oval (and rhombic), spherical, trapezoidal,
triangular, elongated.[5] In this process, beside gold and silver

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TABLE II: GOLD PARTICLE SIZE, SHAPE AND OTHER MINERALS IN SHAKING TABLE SAMPLES

Sample no. Different Particle Size Shape Other Minerals

media (mm)
Head sample Rock fragments, magnetite, quartz, pyrite, mica,
garnet, feldspar, zircon, tourmaline, epidote and
SS-1 pseudo-pyrite (oxidation effect)
Concentrate Mostly rock fragments while tracer amount of quartz,
garnet pyrite and tourmaline are in small proportion
Middling Rock fragments, quartz, epidote, biotite and muscovite
with minor amount of and fine magnetite
Tailing Fragments are dominant with a little amount of garnet
Head sample Rock fragments, quartz, garnet pyrite and tourmaline
are in small proportion
SS-2 Concentrate Mainly composed of quartz, garnet pyrite and
tourmaline
Middling Rock fragments, quartz, garnet pyrite and tourmaline
are in small proportion
Tailing Mainly composed of quartz, garnet pyrite and
tourmaline
Head sample <0.3 Nearly rounded Rock fragment, magnetite, quartz, pyrite, mica, garnet,
feldspar, zircon, tourmaline, epidote and pseudo-pyrite
SS-3 (oxidation effect)
Concentrate 0.5 Rounded to oval Mostly rock fragments while tracer amount of quartz,
0.3 and rounded to garnet pyrite and tourmaline are in small proportion
angular
Middling Rock fragments, quartz, epidote, biotite and muscovite
with minor amount of and fine magnetite
Tailing Fragments are dominant with a little amount of garnet
Head sample Nearly circular Rock fragments, magnetite, quartz, pyrite, mica,
0.5 garnet, feldspar, zircon, tourmaline, epidote and
SS-4 pseudo-pyrite (oxidation effect)
Concentrate 0.5 Elongated to Mostly rock fragments while tracer amount of quartz,
0.3 circular garnet pyrite and tourmaline are in small proportion
Middling Rock fragments, quartz, epidote, biotite and muscovite
with minor amount of and fine magnetite
Tailing Fragments are dominant with a little amount of garnet
Head sample Rock fragments, quartz, garnet pyrite and tourmaline
are in small proportion
SS-5 Concentrate Mainly composed of quartz, garnet pyrite and
tourmaline

Middling Rock fragments, quartz, garnet pyrite and tourmaline

are in small proportion
Tailing Mainly composed of quartz, garnet pyrite and
tourmaline
Head sample Rock fragment, magnetite, quartz, pyrite, mica, garnet,
feldspar, zircon, tourmaline, epidote and pseudo-pyrite
SS-6 (oxidation effect)
Concentrate 0.5 Oval to round Mostly rock fragments while tracer amount of quartz,
garnet pyrite and tourmaline are in small proportion
Middling Rock fragments, quartz, epidote, biotite and muscovite
with minor amount of and fine magnetite
Tailing Fragments are dominant with a little amount of garnet
Head sample Rock fragments, quartz, garnet pyrite and tourmaline
are in small proportion
SS-7 Concentrate Mainly composed of quartz, garnet pyrite and
tourmaline

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Middling Rock fragments, quartz, garnet pyrite and tourmaline

are in small proportion
Tailing Mainly composed of quartz, garnet pyrite and
tourmaline
Head sample Rock fragments, quartz, garnet pyrite and tourmaline
are in small proportion
SS-8 Concentrate
Rock fragment, magnetite, quartz, pyrite, mica, garnet,
feldspar, zircon, tourmaline, epidote.
Middling Rock fragments, quartz, epidote, biotite and muscovite
with minor amount of carbonates,malachite and fine
magnetite
Tailing Little amount of muscovite, garnet and biotite
Head sample Rock fragment, magnetite, quartz, pyrite, mica, garnet,
feldspar, zircon, tourmaline, epidote and pseudo-pyrite
SS-9 (oxidation effect)
Concentrate Mostly rock fragments while tracer amount of quartz,
garnet pyrite and tourmaline are in small proportion
Middling Rock fragments, quartz, epidote, biotite and muscovite
with minor amount of and fine magnetite
Tailing Fragments are dominant with a little amount of garnet
Head sample Rock fragment, magnetite, quartz, pyrite, mica, garnet,
feldspar, zircon, tourmaline, epidote and pseudo-pyrite
SS-10 Concentrate >0.5 Oval to butterfly Mostly magnetite grains while rock fragments, quartz,
And and rounded to garnet pyrite and tourmaline are in small proportion
0.25 angular shape.
Middling Rock fragments, quartz, epidote, biotite and muscovite
with minor amount of carbonates, malachite and fine
magnetite
Tailing Carbonates & rock fragments are dominant with a little
amount of muscovite, garnet and biotite

Beneficiation of placer materials involves the separation of
fine gold particles from large quantities of alluvial
sediments. Gravity separation is the most commonly used
beneficiation method. Water is used in most, if not all steps;
initially, to wash gold particles from oversized material and
later, to move gold concentrate through the shaking table.
Beneficiation typically involves three general steps: the first
is to remove grossly oversized material from the smaller
fraction that contains the gold, the second to concentrate the
gold, and the third to separate the fine gold from other fine,
heavy minerals [7].
The mineralogical study suggested that mineralogy is
almost same in head sample, middling and tailing of all
samples as shown in Table II. The other minerals associated
with gold and silver are rock fragment, magnetite, quartz,
pyrite, mica, garnet, feldspar, zircon, tourmaline, epidote
and pseudo-pyrite (oxidation effect).The particle sizes were
in the range of 0 .25-0.5mm. And these particles were found
in head sample and concentrate as in Table II. The shape of
gold particles prescribed that it has been transported from a
distance of more than hundreds kilometers.
Almost no visible gold particles were found in middling
and tailing. But if we look at the results of tailing and
middling, it shows the presence of gold and silver particles
in these media. Thus it indicates the fine and ultra-fine
particles in different media.
The chemical study of the different media of shaking table
shows that the gold values are very different. The highest
concentration of gold in head samples is 19ppm and lowest
is 0.17ppm. Similarly the highest silver grade is 0.93 ppm
and lowest value is 0.29ppm.
The highest concentration of gold in concentrate samples
is 46ppm and lowest is 0.5ppm. Similarly the highest silver
grade is 1.75 ppm and lowest value is 0.5ppm. The highest

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concentration of gold in middling samples is 14ppm and
lowest is 0.09ppm. Similarly the highest silver grade is 0.6
ppm and lowest value is 0.3ppm.The highest concentration
of gold in tailing samples is 0.9ppm and lowest is 0.07ppm.
Similarly the highest silver grade is 0.5 ppm and lowest
value is 0.1ppm
V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
It has been concluded that the concentration of gold in
alluvial sediments are very random so its grade will vary
from sample to sample and place to place as it has been
transported from more than 100kms. Gold was associated
with other minerals especially magnetite, quartz, pyrite,
mica, garnet, feldspar, zircon, tourmaline, epidote and
pseudo-pyrite (oxidation effect). Silver presence was a
potential source of valuable mineral.
From the particle sizes it was suggested that amalgamation
followed by cyanidation is the best method to recover
larger, fine and ultra-fine gold particles from all the media
while precautionary measures should be taken while using
mercury and cyanide.
Gold extraction will require installation of extraction plant.
The plant consists of 1) Screening, agitating, and mining
unit. 2) Shaking table/gravity separation unit, 3) tumbling
unit, 4) furnace unit. Gold particles lost to tailings and
middling’s could be recovered by employing
cyanidation/leaching test on spot by designing a set up that
is environmentally friendly.
A pilot study is suggested in order to increase the
knowledge of the proposed plant and resources.

[7]Flatt, P. 1990 (March). "Fine Placer Gold Recovery

REFERENCES Methods."California Mining Journal: 5-8.

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Basin, Shaidu Area, District Nowshera, NWFP,
Pakistan. Jour. Chem. S0c. Pak. Vol, 29(2).

[3] Minter, W.E.L., 1976. Detrital gold, uranium and

pyrite concentrations related to sedimentology in the
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[4] Komar, D., Wang, C., 1984. Processes of selective

grain transport and the formation of placers on
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[5]HerailG.,(1984),Geomorphologieetgitologiedel’ or
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[6]Pašava, J., Bezuško, P., Komínek, E., Kříbek, B.,

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